INSIDER TRADING CHARGED

The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday charged the chairman of Compucare Inc. with fraud in connection with alleged insider trading in Compucare stock prior to Compucare`s takeover by Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.

In a suit filed in United States District Court in Washington, the SEC accused Ronald Aprahamian of leaking advance inside corporate information about the impending takeover to three friends. The three friends were identified as James Hildreth of Fairfax, Va., David Nellen of Washington and Stephen Saine of Annandale, Va.

While the SEC accused the three friends of trading on the leaked information, the same charge was not made against Aprahamian.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, Aprahamian, Hildreth, Nellen and Saine consented to a court injunction against violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws in the future.

Aprahamian was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $33,000 under the Insider Trading Sanctions Act.

The SEC said Nellen agreed to pay $13,889 in trading profits and to pay the same amount in a fine. Hildreth agreed to pay $4,875 and the same amount as his fine and Saine, $5,462, and the same amount as his fine.

Officials at Baxter, based in north suburban Deerfield, had no comment on the charges.

Baxter entered a definitive agreement on March 1 to acquire Compucare, a provider of information systems and services to the health-care field, in a pooling-of-interests stock transaction. Under this agreement, Baxter announced it would exchange $13 worth of its common stock for each share of Compucare.

Baxter provides intravenous and blood supplies to hospitals and also has various information systems operations, including Dynamic Control, JS/Data and SBS.